Cape Fire Chief says phone app can ‘save lives’

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI)- Battalion Chief Shawn Morris for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department describes a handy tool that emergency medical personnel and the public can use.

PulsePoint Respond is a 911-connected app that can immediately inform you of emergencies occurring in your community and can request your help when CPR is needed nearby.

“Currently, there’s about three million users in the United States that use Pulse Point. It’s activated every day,” said Morris.

Morris shows the number of users in the Cape Girardeau area, which are separated by verified and non-verified CPR citizens.

Morris displays the PulsePoint Respond website showing the number of users in the area.

“Right now in the area, this is all Cape Girardeau. So, the people who are in red those are all verified, people who are cops, firefighters, police officers, doctors, nurses. All the people in yellow are unverified responders such as the private citizens here in Cape Girardeau,” he said.

There are approximately 85-to-100 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the city of Cape Girardeau each year.

Each second counts in emergency situations and administering CPR can increase the victim’s chances of surviving by nearly 45 percent.

Concluded Morris: “The reason it’s important is to save lives, it gets people to them faster and receive CPR quicker.”